Middle Eastern Brown Lentil Soup

This is a Middle Eastern style lentil soup. It is very simple to prepare and makes a one dish meal when served with bread or even pita bread. The whole secret of making a great lentil soup is the right amount of lemon juice and cumin powder added during the time of serving. 


Ingredients 
1/2 cup brown lentils or whole masoor dal with the brown skin
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon coriander seed powder
5 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 medium sized carrot
1 tomato
1/4 stick celery
1 medium white/yellow onion 
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds powder for garnish
3 tablespoon Cilantro/Coriander leaves or Parsley for garnish
salt for taste


Method
Wash the brown lentils well and soak them for 6-8 hours in water. After soaking, wash the lentils with fresh water and keep aside. Chop the onion, tomato and carrot into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan and and chopped garlic, chopped celery and onion. When the onion is transparant add the carrots and the tomato. Mix in coriander seeds powder, 1 teaspoon  cumin seeds powder, turmeric powder and cayenne pepper. Add the lentils and salt. Pressure cook till the lentils are soft. Whisk the lentils till the lentils are mixed with the vegetables. Garnish with lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder and coriander leaves/parsley. Serve hot.